Long airport security lines are driving travelers to hire professional line-sitters to hold their place in TSA queues as staffing shortages disrupt airports.
Holding someone’s place in a queue for money isn’t a new concept. Professional line-sitters have been around for years, typically holding a premium spot in a line-up to wait for concert tickets, tennis shoes, hot restaurants, or new iPhones.
Those lines, however, were static, and you could sit down, entirely different from the stop-and-go trudge of the airport security line. At some airports, like Bush Intercontinental in Houston, where TSA absenteeism has reduced staffing and closed checkpoints, the waits have been reported to stretch out for hours.
At least one entrepreneur has offered up his services for standing in TSA lines. The Washington Post reports Steven Dial, a Houston resident and owner of the assistance service Dial Signature Solutions, is offering to wait in lines for travelers. He charges $65 per hour in addition to his parking cost of $5 per hour, and will take up a place in the security line for travelers.
Once the traveler is ready to take over, he’ll swap out with them, saying there’s no ethical question, as the number of people waiting in line doesn’t change—it’s a one-for-one transaction.
Continue Reading Article After Our Video
Recommended Fodor’s Video
TSA doesn’t appear to have an issue with the practice, for they don’t control the queues in the lobby—their jurisdiction starts at the I.D. check. Airports, for their part, haven’t explicitly banned the practice, but they don’t recommend that travelers use them, because they’re not vetted.
The need for a line-sitter may be short-lived. TSA agents have begun receiving back pay for the paychecks they’ve missed since February 14, when funding ran out for the parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). CNN reports that airport security lines have largely returned to normal, with absenteeism rates dropping. Many TSA workers who had been without paychecks found themselves having to call out from work because they could no longer pay their childcare providers and needed to look after their children themselves, or called in to do other paid work.
Future checks, however, are still not guaranteed. Congress is in the midst of a two-week recess without having come to an agreement on future funding for DHS. The executive order authorizing back pay only authorizes missed checks, and doesn’t authorize any funding for future paychecks, so if the DHS funding is still lapsed at the end of the pay period, airport waits could again increase.
The union representing TSA workers, the American Federation of Government Employees, also reported that many workers reported incorrect check amounts, missing overtime, and improper tax withholdings. The union also said that recent changes to TSA furlough policies, which previously allowed officers to request leave during shutdowns if they couldn’t get to work or find childcare, have recently changed, making it more likely officers would simply quit if they weren’t being paid.
There are other options for hiring a line sitter, but they can be expensive. TSA PreCheck and the line-skipping service CLEAR+ are still available. For travelers who don’t want to go through the vetting processes for a single trip, there are VIP services like Perq Soleil and SkySquad which offer airport meet and assist services, and have priority line access at some airports.
The private airport terminal service PS, available in Los Angeles and Atlanta, with locations in Dallas and Miami coming soon, offers a private, separate terminal with its own screening checkpoint to travelers willing to fork over four figures. When it’s time to board, travelers are driven directly to their aircraft from the private terminal.
The DHS shutdown stretched into its 45th day on Monday, eclipsing the record set by the full government shutdown last fall, which lasted 43 days.